Author
Topic: Newbie on the block. (Read 2389 times)

Hello everybody. About a year ago I saw an RE for the very first time and I was smitten.(It was a military). Now, I've never owned a bike before and only ever rode one once in a parking lot, BUT at 46 I've been a competitive bicycle racer for 25 years in addition to being fairly(but not brilliantly) adept, mechanically. I just got a learners permit and am scheduled to take the MSF basic rider course in the spring. I guess what I'm asking here is the general consensus whether an RE would make for a suitable first bike, bearing in mind that I'd be practicing newly acquired skills. Also, as I live in apartment(no garage), all maintenance will be done AL fresco. There are other lovely bikes out there that are marketed as entry level (the Moto Guzzi Nevada comes to mind) but when I close my eyes at night, it's still the Enfield that I see before I drop off. The other major companies offerings all seem soulless by comparison(or out of my price range, frankly). I've only recently discovered this forum and I have to say that the knowledge and PASSION on display is breathtaking. I look forward to reading the posts everyday. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this and for any advice that may come my way.

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Ace "Fireball 535" (#10)Ace "GP" head on the shelf and waiting.Featherbed frame conversion.

Newbie motorcyclist with an RE:Good Points:- It's a thumper! They look great and sound better- They are light and nimble and handle great.- They are easy to maintain

Possible Bad Points:- They require more careful maintenance than some modern marques (search the forum for "maintenance") That maintenance is also more frequent if you follow the mfr recommended intervals- Forget trying to run quick errands. You'll have to stop and talk to people...

LJRead

Hello, I'm a newbie too, but had an R E back in the late fifties which I hardly remember, except it was quick (twin cylinder). Since reading about them on this forum and other places, I have only heard of two that didn't get on with their R Es and this was because of old fashioned quirkiness, mainly - the thing we all seem to like.

Good luck with your choice - sounds like an adventure for you and we can all use a bit of that.

Scotty, Thumper, LJRead, and Louma, Thank you for your welcoming and helpfull remarks. The gently humorous tone and non macho attitude of this site is especially inviting. I'm looking forward to when I can log in as a FULLY FLEDGED member of the RE family. I'ts gonna be a looong winter. Chuck.

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Ace "Fireball 535" (#10)Ace "GP" head on the shelf and waiting.Featherbed frame conversion.

Welcome, Chuck. I have ridden many bikes, the only one I dream about, it the Enfield. As a first time bike, it is great - forgiving, easy to handle - more so than any other bike I know. It will work on road, or on dirt - I regularly ride mine on gravel, grass and dirt.

LJRead

You know, RagMan, I'm starting to get a feel for Enfield's off road heritage - hadn't really thought of it when I decided to go Enfield, but now that I am learning about it, it ads a whole new dimension, especially where i am with few paved roads, but hundreds of miles of dirt and grass ones. Great!

(just edited my spelling - my eyes are shot and so is my spelling-if you ever see me coming down the road, better get off it because I may not see you! Joking, joking)

I think it would make a great first bike. Light, easy to handle, forgiving. Plus if you buy a new model, you'll have to ride it slowly for a while to break it in, which in your case, would work out great. You can both break yourselves in. The others have mentioned the maintenance side. Its not overwhelming, just more than a brand new Japanese bike would need. But its all fairly simple and you have lots of help available here. Getting your hands dirty is half the fun. Not much you can fix these days with simple hand tools and nothing else.

They make good used buys as well if you can find one. A fair few people buy them, expecting it to be a retro bike and are disappointed when they find out its not a retro bike but the real thing! Go in with your eyes open, and you won't be disappointed. Good luck with the MSF course. Where are you located?

Paul

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2007 Military. It needs some company now the Suzuki has left the stable..........

I've had my Electra just a couple of months or so. It isn't my first bike, but is my first for a few years.

I LOVE it. I think if you're seeing it before you go to sleep (as I was) then an RE has chosen you - I'd say you have no choice, really!

The reason I love it so much, and more each time I ride - it is easy to ride. It sort of wraps around you, and becomes part of you as you ride. You sort of feel joined to it - hard to explain. I didn't feel that way with my Hondas, certainly not with my Ducati, but do remember that feeling with an old Triumph Tiger 90 I had in my early 20s.

I have a 500cc - in New Zealand, you aren't allowed over 250 as a first bike, until you get a full licence. What about where you are?

And as for Al Fresco - well, seems to me there's the only real risk if you mean it will live all the time out in the rain - the chrome is a bit thin, so they start to rust pretty easily. I had mine under a tarp for three weeks. Sidstand showed clear rustspots already. So I built a carport. (I still argue that the bike didn't breach the pre-agreed budget, but I think I'm on thin ice!!!)

Hi Chuck, as the others have said, welcome to the forum. I'm in almost the exact position you are. I haven't ridden motorcycles before but have done a fair amount of bicycle riding over the years - nothing competitive, just recreational. I'm handy mechanically, having done my most of my own auto maintenance for over 35 years. My new red Electra is being delivered next week just in time for my 60th birthday. The big problem now is that Nor'Easter comining in this weekend. I see you're in Brooklyn, so you'll get some of that white stuff too. I'm about 2 hours away in northeastern PA and I'll have to give you credit for launching into motorcycles for the first time in the big city. In my area there are miles and miles of country roads just waiting to be explored on a Royal Enfield. I can't wait to get on the Electra and get going, but I do have to remember it is winter in the north east. It would be nice if more folks would put their locations in their profile. Everyone on this forum is helpful and there seems to be an instant bond with other RE afficianados, it would be great to get together with others in the area and plan some rides. Good luck and maybe I'll see you on the road next summer.

TRider, Paul, Biddy, and Brian, It's great to meet all of you. This obsession is starting to snowball. It used to be, I'd walk over to magazine rack and go right for Velo News or Cycle Sport (both euro centered bicycle racing mags). Now I make a beeline for the latest Walneck's Cycle Trader or Motorcycle Consumer News. The motorcycle sites are starting to outnumber the bicycle sites on my favorites list. This is a shift in consciousness that is a little bittersweet being, being involved in the latter for so long. The two lifestyles (and they ARE lifestyles) share much as should be obvious to anyone. Both place a premium on freedom whilst gracefully (and in the case of the bicycle, silently) guiding a perfectly tuned machine. The skills (countersteering, hyper-awareness) are also analagous, if maybe not directly transferable. Also and maybe to lesser extent I think there is a shared antipathy to cars and the numbing diconnectedness that they engender in drivers. I don't mean this last to be provocative, just my opinion. Anyway I'm rambling. To satisfy my jones untill the spring, I just ordered the RE super factory service manual which i plan to devour. Paul, thanks for the advice and good luck wishes, Biddy, have fun on the new Electra; Brian, happy birthday and good luck with your future Electra. Lets not forget to wave to each other on the N.J. turnpike.

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Ace "Fireball 535" (#10)Ace "GP" head on the shelf and waiting.Featherbed frame conversion.